1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upsetting press for reducing the width of rolled material, particularly for reducing the slab width in wide strip hot breaking-down trains. The upsetting press includes two tool support members on which setting tools which face each other are mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
An upsetting press of the above-identified type is known, for example, from European patent 0,112,516. This known upsetting press includes a pair of pressing tools which are arranged on both sides of a slab feeding train. The pressing tools have pressing surfaces which face toward each other and serve to press a slab. At least one of these pressing surfaces extends essentially parallel to the slab feeding direction, while the other pressing surface extends obliquely relative to the slab feeding direction. A vibration unit imparts vibrations to the pressing tool having the parallel and inclined surfaces. This known upsetting press further includes a width regulating unit for regulating the position of the pressing tool in the transverse direction of the slab and a control which determines whether the front end of the slab is arranged between the parallel surfaces of the pressing tools and which then actuates the width regulating unit and which actuates the vibration unit after a predetermined pressing action has been carried out. In this known upsetting press, the time required for laterally upsetting the slabs is reduced and the upsetting effect with respect to the slab shape and the slab surface is improved. However, the width regulating unit and the control for the vibration unit are very complicated. The operating and maintenance costs of this known upsetting press are very high in relation to the almost continuous manner of operation of the slab press or upsetting press which can be obtained.
German Offenlegungsschrift 25 31 591 discloses an upsetting press for reducing the width and for reducing the thickness of slabs of different widths which arrive from a continuous casting plant. In the upsetting press, pressure tools which are moved toward each other repeatedly act on the slab. The tool can freely follow the feed of the slab and the tools are actuated in such a way that they carry out a relatively slow working step and a relatively fast idle step. For this purpose, the upsetting press has at least a pair of edge working tools which act perpendicularly on the edges of the slab and means for quickly reciprocating the tools. The tools for reducing the thickness of the slabs being fed are mounted in a frame which is freely pivotable about a crank axis. The crankshaft is driven by a pair of elliptic gear wheels which are mounted in such a way that they reduce the angular speed of the corresponding eccentric shafts during the working step and increase the speed during the idle step. The edge tool for reducing the width of the slab are connected to the crank drive by means of intermediately arranged hydraulic units in such a way that the edge tools can follow the movement of the slab during the operation on the slab without impairing the feeding movement of the slab.
This known upsetting press is also technically too complicated and, thus, too expensive. An adjustment to the feeding speed of the rolled material can only be effected by changing the gear system with the elliptic gear wheels in accordance with the feeding speed of the slab.
In other upsetting presses which work in accordance with the operating principle of flying crank shears, the selected crank radius inevitably results in a certain relation between the number of strokes and the feeding speed of the pressing tool which cannot be changed since the rate of rotation of the main drive shaft is constant. An adjustment to the feeding speed of the rolled material is only possible by operating the main drive with different rates of rotation within a 360.degree. rotation, wherein the rate of rotation in the engagement region must be selected in such a way that the required synchronization between the feeding speeds of the pressing tool and the feeding speed of the slab occurs. Flying presses equipped with such a drive require significant drive power for the cyclical acceleration and deceleration of the masses being moved. In addition, a flying press with the known type of drive produces undesirable cyclical noises. Another disadvantage of the known upsetting press is the fact that the tool support members which carry the pressing tools carry out a pivoting movement during the rotation over 360.degree.. The geometric dimensions must be such that at least in the region of the engagement of the pressing tool within the rolled material, the setting tool is approximately parallel to the side edge of the slab. In view of the required synchronization of the feeding speeds, this further limits the dimensional range of the press.